RELATED NEWS AND INFORMATION

The next 40 years worth of proposed transportation planning and spending comes up for a public hearing on Friday morning before the San Diego Association of Governments board of directors.

The document in the docket is the 2050 Regional Transportation Plan, the blueprint for spending $196 billion in highway, public transit and active transit projects. Active transit includes bicycling and pedestrian projects.

For the first time, the transportation plan includes a document called the Sustainable Communities Strategy. It is a first-in-state plan for developing transportation, housing and commerce strategies that will help the county meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals set by the state.

Additionally, SANDAG released this week the Environmental Impact Report to complement the transportation plan by presenting the hard numbers on how each project and strategy in the plan will affect the environment.

SANDAG is hosting host seven public workshops/hearings in June throughout San Diego County on the 2050 plan. The public is invited to comment on the Draft 2050 RTP, the Sustainable Communities Strategy, the Regional Housing Needs Assessment and the Environmental Impact Report.

The remaining public workshops will be held from 4 to 7 p.m., with the public hearing portion starting at 6 p.m. The dates and locations are as follows:

Those who cannot attend the meetings can submit their comments several ways: online in English or Spanish at www.sandag.org/2050rtp; e-mail to 2050rtp@sandag.org; call (877) 277-5736; fax (619) 699-1905; or by mail to SANDAG, 2050 RTP Comment, 401 B St., Suite 800, San Diego, CA 92101.

Approval of the final regional transportation plan is scheduled for Oct. 28 by the SANDAG board of directors.

Before that, however, the public can submit comments on the plan until June 30. Comments on the environmental impact report will be accepted until Aug. 1.